Australian shares are tipped to edge slightly lower on Thursday, breaking a three-day winning streak after the country's most populous city hit a daily record of COVID-19 infections on Wednesday, with gold stocks likely to fall on plummeting prices.

The local share price index futures fell 0.1%, a 70.9-point discount to the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index close.

The benchmark added 0.4% to end trade at 7,531.9 points, continuing its rebound from a tumultuous past week.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index fell 0.4% to 13126.8 in early trade.